Doubting EVMs, Solapur villagers to hold 'repoll' with ballots

Residents of a village in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Monday said they have planned a 'repoll' using ballots as the results of the recently-concluded assembly polls were 'doubtful' due to the presence of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

They claimed Malshiras assembly seat winner Uttam Jankar of Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar got more than 80 per cent of votes in Markarwadi village against his Bharatiya Janata Party opponent and sitting MLA Ram Satupte.

However, as per the EVM voting, Jankar got 1,003 votes while Satpute was close behind with 843.

They claimed Satpute would not have got more than 100-150 votes from their village.

In the November 20 polls, results of which were announced on November 23, Jankar defeated Satpute by 13,147 votes.

The EVM results are doubtful and a delegation of villagers had approached the district administration for a repoll using ballots but the request was rejected, one of them said.

The villagers have put up banners claiming a 'repoll' will be held on December 3.

Taking cognisance, the Malshiras sub divisional magistrate on Monday imposed prohibitory orders under section 163 of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita from December 2 to 5 in order to avoid any conflict between groups due to this 'repoll' plan, an official said.

The so-called repoll comes amid the opposition casting doubts on electronic voting machines following the Mahayuti's massive victory in the November 20 assembly polls.

The Mahayuti won 230 of the state's 288 seats, with BJP emerging victorious on 132, followed by Shiv Sena on 57 and Ajit Pawar's NCP on 41.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray, the Congress and the Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP managed to get just 46 seats.